Spring devices – Resilient shock or vibration absorber – Nonmetallic – resilient element
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-01
2003-12-23
Graham, Matthew C. (Department: 3613)
Spring devices
Resilient shock or vibration absorber
Nonmetallic, resilient element
C267S140120, C267S141300, C267S141700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06666438
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-102322 filed on Mar. 30, 2001 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cylindrical elastic mount in which an inner shaft member and an outer sleeve member are elastically connected with each other by an elastic body interposed therebetween, and include flange portions formed at respective ones of axially opposite end portions thereof such that the flange portions are opposed to each other in an axial direction of the cylindrical elastic mount via the elastic body interposed therebetween. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with such a cylindrical elastic mount suitable for use in an automotive vehicle as a member mount, a deferential mount, a body mount and other connecting members, and a vibration isolating connector or a cylindrical elastic mount assembly including the cylindrical elastic mount as a component.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cylindrical elastic mount is known as one type of an vibration isolating connector interposed between two members of a vibration system. A member mount is one example of the cylindrical elastic mount, and is disposed between a sub-flame, e.g., a suspension member and a cross member, and a body of the vehicle for elastically supporting the sub-flame on the body in a vibration-isolating fashion. Such a known cylindrical elastic mount generally includes an inner metal sleeve and an outer metal sleeve, which are disposed in co-axial relation with each other and elastically connected with each other by a rubber elastic body interposed therebetween, and is installed between two members of the vibration system such that the outer metal sleeve is press-fitted into a fixing bore formed in one of the two members and the inner metal sleeve is fixedly assembled with a rod member formed in the other member and extending through its bore.
The known cylindrical elastic mount is required not only to exhibit a vibration damping or isolating effect with respect to a vibrational load applied thereto in an axial direction thereof from the suspension member and a power unit of the vehicle, but also to provide a stopper function for restricting an amount of displacement of the inner and outer metal sleeves relative to each other in a shock absorbing manner, upon application of a relatively large vibrational load to the cylindrical elastic mount.
For enabling the cylindrical elastic mount to exhibit the required high vibration isolating characteristics with respect to the vibrational load applied thereto in the axial direction, it is effective to arrange the cylindrical elastic mount so as to exhibit linear low spring characteristics within a large stroke range when the inner and outer metal sleeves are displaced relative to each other in the axial direction. Likewise, for enabling the cylindrical elastic mount to provide an excellent stopper function, it is effective to arrange the cylindrical elastic mount so as to exhibit non-linear spring characteristics wherein an axial spring constant of the rubber elastic body is smoothly increased.
Examples of the conventional member mounts are disclosed in JP-A-2000-61434, JP-B-2981598 and JP-A-210406, wherein the inner and outer metal sleeves have integrally formed flange portions, respectively, which are opposed to each other in the axial direction with the rubber elastic body interposed therebetween. When the inner and outer metal sleeves are displaced relative to each other in the axial direction, the elastic body interposed between the flange portions of the inner and outer sleeve members is accordingly compressed by and between the flange portions in the axial direction substantially entirely. Therefore, the conventional cylindrical elastic mount is likely to exhibit spring characteristics, i.e., load-deflection characteristics such that a low load region assuring a linear change of a low spring constant is narrowed, and the spring constant of the cylindrical elastic mount is skyrocketed in a high load region outside the low load region. Thus, the conventional member mount experiences an abrupt change of its spring constant when a relatively high vibrational load is applied thereto, and therefore is not able to sufficiently exhibit the vibration isolating capability with respect to the vibrational load applied thereto in the axial direction, and a shock absorbing capability upon application of the relatively large vibrational load thereto in the axial direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cylindrical elastic mount which is novel in construction, and which is capable exhibiting an improved axial vibration isolating capability with the help of spring characteristics of the cylindrical elastic mount wherein a low load region permitting the cylindrical elastic mount to exhibit linear spring characteristics is extended, while being capable of restricting an axial displacement of an inner and outer metal sleeve relative to each other in a shock absorbing manner with the held of the spring characteristics of the cylindrical elastic mount wherein the spring constant of the cylindrical elastic mount is smoothly increased upon application of a relatively large vibrational load to the cylindrical elastic mount.
The above and/or optional objects of this invention may be attained according to at least one of the following modes of the invention. Each of these modes of the invention is numbered like the appended claims and depending from the other mode or modes, where appropriate, to indicate possible combinations of elements or technical features of the invention. It is to be understood that the principle of the invention is not limited to these modes of the invention and combinations of the technical features, but may otherwise be recognized based on the teachings of the present invention disclosed in the entire specification and drawings or that may be recognized by those skilled in the art in the light of the present disclosure in its entirety.
(1) A cylindrical elastic mount comprising: (a) an inner shaft member having an integrally formed flange portion extending radially outwardly from one of axially opposite ends thereof; (b) an outer sleeve member disposed around the inner shaft member with a radial spacing therebetween, the outer sleeve member having an integrally formed flange portion extending radially outwardly from one of axially opposite ends thereof corresponding to the one of axially opposite ends of the inner shaft member so that the flange portions of the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member are opposed to each other in an axial direction parallel to a central axis of said cylindrical elastic mount with a given axial spacing between respective opposite surfaces of said flange portions; and (c) an elastic body disposed in the radial spacing between the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member and in the axial spacing between the flange portions for elastically connecting the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member; wherein the opposite surfaces of the flange portions of the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member include respective tapered surfaces, which extend approximately parallel to each other in an axially outward direction inclined to the central axis, and are elastically connected with each other via the elastic body interposed therebetween.
In the cylindrical elastic mount constructed according to this mode of the invention, the flange portions of the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member are opposed to each other in the direction inclined to the central axis of the cylindrical member at respective tapered surfaces of the opposite surfaces thereof. An axial vibrational load applied between the inner shaft member and the outer sleeve member acts on the flange portions and a part of the elastic body interposed between the flange portions in a direct
Rossi & Associates
Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd.
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